The present invention relates to electrical connectors in general, and in particular to electrical connectors having a wire-wrap terminal for connecting a wire thereto by means of a wire-wrap connection and a terminal for removably connecting another wire thereto, particularly for use with terminal blocks, circuit boards and the like for connecting a service wire to a wire-wrap terminal point or circuit point.
A connector for connecting a wire thereto by means of a wire-wrap connection and for removably connecting another wire thereto by means of a fastener, for example, which is mounted to a terminal block, circuit board and the like must be securely mounted to the terminal block or circuit board with good torque and pullout resistances. In addition, the wires must physically be connected securely to the connector. For example, a connector which removably receives a service wire by means of a screw o nut fastener arrangement must be capable of physically withstanding repeated tightening and loosening of the fastener while providing a good physical connection of the wires to the connector and of the connector to the terminal block or circuit board. Thus, physical or mechanical requirements are imposed on such a connector as well as the electrical requirements of good electrical contact of the wires to the connector and a good electrically-conducting path through the connector between the respective wires connected thereto.
Frequently a compromise must be reached in the construction of the connector as to mechanical, electrical and cost factors. For example, the connector may be of one-piece construction made entirely of a material which is selected on the basis of its electrical characteristics. Such a connector while having good electrical characteristics may be more costly than necessary from a material standpoint and/or from a fabrication standpoint, or may not satisfy the mechanical requirements as well as desired.
In current telephone communications applications, terminal blocks typically use a wire-wrap connector for making connections to main cable wires. That connector includes a wire-wrap post to which a cable wire may be wrapped, and either a male threaded stud attached to the wire-wrap post or a female threaded member integral with the wire-wrap post for connecting a service wire to the connector. The service wire is connected to the connector with washers and either a nut or screw tightened to the male stud or female member, respectively. Typically the wire-wrap post and the male stud or female member are made of brass to provide the desired electrical characteristics described above and, in this case, the mechanical characteristics as well. Generally the plastic terminal block is molded first and the connectors inserted into the plastic block as a secondary operation, or the hardware is molded into and with the block in a single molding operation. In either case, the resulting product is quite costly, difficult to produce and inefficient in material usage.
There is thus a need for an electrical connector which provides, at low cost, a good electrical connection between a wire wrapped to the connector and another wire, while providing good mechanical connection of the wires to the connector and good mechanical connection of the connector to a terminal block or circuit board with good torque and pullout resistances.